IT'S not often that Bill McIlveen is left speechless but on Saturday night he had good reason.
Mr McIlveen was awarded the George Churchward Medal, Football NSW's most prestigious individual award, for showing an outstanding commitment to the game.
For more than 40 years he has dedicated his life to football in the Sutherland Shire, holding a long list of positions with Sutherland Shire Football Association, Heathcote Waratah Football Club and Football NSW.
Mr McIlveen, of Heathcote, has been a coach, team manager, referee, committee member and a volunteer, among other roles.
He even had a stint as chairman of the judiciary.
He was honoured at the Football NSW state dinner held at the Rosehill Gardens Grand Pavilion in front of hundreds of guests.
Mr McIlveen said hearing his named called as the recipient was one of his proudest moments.
"I was so chuffed you wouldn't believe," he said.
"When they announced my name I just went to pieces.
"What's stranger is that my wife knew all along and I had no idea."
Mr McIlveen, 82, said witnessing the ability and joy of young players was the biggest highlight from his time in the game.
"I was manager of a number of state teams and being a referee I got called on to ref a lot of the trial games," he said.
"I often found myself in awe of some of the talents before me.
"I couldn't believe kids 13, 14, 15 years old could do what they did.
"That's got to be one of the top things for me."
A midfielder or defender in his playing days with Oatley Methodist in the Protestant Churches competition, he said he still raised a smile when he drove past Arncliffe Park, the scene of his one and only goal.
Mr McIlveen said the recognition for years of dedicated service meant everything to him.
"I said to quite a few people on the night that it's obviously not something you set out to try and get," he said.
"For me it's about the game, and the young people playing the game.
"Just in Sutherland we've got 18,500 players — sometimes we don't have enough grounds to give everyone a game.
"But that's what it's about, doing all we can to get people involved in the game."
